Do Facebook Likes And Twitter Followers Matter? INS 19

Today’s podcast show notes outline whether the Facebook Page likes and Twitter followers really matter when trying to measure engagement. Be sure to tune in via the player above, or stream this show via your favorite podcasting app to get the full run down on my angle about these number might actually mean for you.

Do the number of followers really matter?

The answer to that questions is, well, maybe. So, what in the heck do I mean by that? Well, you could have 100,000 Twitter followers or 50,000 Facebook likes, which in some cases might actually be great for you. Except, are you actually getting the social connection your business needs to drive conversion and sales?

If you’re just looking at these raw numbers and assume that this is what’s going to give you that edge, you might find yourself disappointed, in most cases that is. Now I do realize that there are plenty of brands out there that do have an impressive amount of followers, and that they’re actually able to move the needle, however to reiterate this movement may not just be because of the follower number.

Let’s break this down and go back to the beginning, or maybe where you are now and assess what’s going on with your audience at this moment, and how to tweak it so you can increase conversions.


So then who should “like” me?

Now I know we’ve all been there, especially when we’re first starting out. We start a blog, a video channel, or set up various social media platforms and we want people to start following us as soon as possible. Like how about yesterday people!?

Here’s the thing. At first, it’s likely your friends and family who are going to be the ones reading your blog posts and liking or following your social platforms. It’s a common rite of passage, but definitely not a sustainable one if you’re looking for some type of business conversion.

If you invite every friend and family member that you’re connected to online to like and follow all of your platforms, it’ll seem like you’ve got the right numbers, but again, you might actually have the wrong numbers. Think about it. Is this particular cohort of followers actually your target audience? If it is, then great! You’re well on your way, and likely to get the next set of numbers I’m going to be discussing, but really think about this and ask yourself again, are these the folks I’m targeting?

As much as your friends and family care about you, you may eventually discover that this isn’t doing much to help grow your business. The same goes for just randomly following people hoping they’ll follow you back.

Remember, subscribe, like, or follow a brand because it’s providing you with the high value content you’re looking for. If they follow you back, then that’s great, but don’t make this your top priority. And, if you’d really like to get their attention then instead of saying

“Look at me!”

“Like this!”

“Share this!”

“Hey buddy!”

Continue to create value through your platforms and eventually you might actually get these “high profile” brands to notice. However, let’s dive into the numbers that really make the difference. No matter the platform you should be able to have a metric tied to everything you’re doing out there.

 

I may be reaching here.

Your reach is actually the number that indicates how many users you’re actually getting in front of, to a point. On your Facebook posts for example this is the number that is displayed as a “number” reached. Now this doesn’t mean that everyone you reached actually got out of it what you hoped for, this is just your exposure to potential fans and customers.

This number could be a portion of some or all of your current fans, and it could actually reach a higher number than the actual fans on your page. I’ll explain this in a moment, but simply put you need the user to actually engage with the content.

Sharing is caring.

Now when someone sees your post and they like it, that’s good. We’ll take it. Although, when they either comment or share the content via a share on Facebook or a retweet on Twitter, then we’re starting to really move that needle a little bit. You’re actually starting to get some actual engagement with your content.

It’s not that it’s just sitting in their news feed or Twitter feed anymore, the “fan” is actually starting to see some value in what you’re sharing, although I should mention a couple of caveats here in that people are often quick on the shares and retweets without actually fully engaging with the content. Some of us read the headlines and think it might be interesting or helpful, but we may not actually be clicking on the content to determine the real value (or in some cases maybe no value) we’re sharing.

Facebook Engagement

Has anyone seen the clicker?

Clicks are what you’re really looking for. Sure, shares and comments are great too, but to actually get a fan to leave the current platform they’re on to consume that content is a pretty big win. Even bigger if those clicks start converting.

Since this type of engagement can help you better convert, then this is what you really want to dial in on. When you’re click through is up, then pay attention to your call-to-action, or the actual content you’re sharing. Why are people sharing or not?

Probably obvious at this point, but clearly you are going to want to understand what posts you are putting out that are actually attracting clicks. This serves a couple of purposes.

First, it can give you a good idea of how your content is performing. If no one is actually clicking why? Could be your lead in content on Facebook and Twitter aren’t making people want to click. Could be your title is sort of boring. Could be the content just doesn’t interest a ton of people.

This gives you a lot of things to look at, and work on improving.

Sometimes it’s as simple as just tweaking a sentence or a couple of words. Try a few experiments with the same posts over a couple of platforms and spread that out over a few days. Have you noticed any spikes in the engagement?

Awesome! This means you are doing something right. Hone in on what “this” is and copy it!

Bring it home

So it’s time to tie this all together. Remember, in a space that’s already crowded, it’s not just the sheer number of followers but rather how many are truly engaged. Evaluate what’s working and not through your analytical tools and the insights built in to Facebook. Make changes where needed.

Remember to continue to add curated content to your workflow and also assess how that’s doing. Are there patterns that you can dial in on and improve your engagement? It won’t be long before you start noticing a few patterns and changes that you’re going to be able to capitalize on and take your social media to the next level.

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